Jewelry clasp



April 26, 1966 p, SPERANZA ETAL 3,247,561

JEWELRY CLASP Original Filed March 31. 1960 FIG.2

PRIOR ART FIG.3

INVENTORS. Peier A.Speronzo 8 Mildred Broun A dmx W MM ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,247,561 JEWELRY CLASP ice ' provement.

Peter A. Speranza, North Bellmore, and Gabriel Braun,

deceased, late of Forest Hills, N.Y., assignors to The Richelieu Corp.,a corporation of New York Original application Mar. 31, 1960, Ser. No.18,936, now Patent No. 3,120,042, dated Feb. 4, 1964. Divided and thisapplication Jan. 27, 1964, Scr. No. 363,313 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-116) Thisapplication is a division of application Serial No. 18,936, filed March31, 1960, now Patent No. 3,120,042, which in turn is acontinuation-in-part of United States application Serial No. 2,958,filed January 18, 1960, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a jewelry clasp element especially useful forholding the ends of two or more strands of beads or pearls.

The ends of the strands of plural-strand necklaces made up of beads,pearls and similar decorative objects are ordinarily attached to theclasp elements by means of a short chain or a link which is aifixed tothe clasp element. For example, the string, wire or monofilament onwhich the pearls or beads are strung may have a metal hook aflixed ateach end and this hook is clamped onto one of the links which is affixedto the clamp element. In this structure, (1) the end of the string orwire on which the beads are strung is visible in the hook means, (2) thehook and link attachment to the clasp element are conspicuouslydifferent from the beads on the string and (3) the skilled laborrequired to fix the ends of the strings to the clasp element issubstantial. This loose structured attachment also allows tangling ofthe strands especially when there are three or more strands.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide a clasp elementto which the ends of strings containing pearls or beads can be directlyattached thereby providing an improved appearance with no string endsshowing and a tighter attachment which is resistant to tangling, etc.

Among other objects of the invention is to provide a clasp element whichcan be more quickly attached to an end of one or more strings of pearlsor beads which it is to hold.

The term string in the specification and claims is used in its broadsense as a means for holding beads and pearls and includes threads,fibrous strings, multifilament strings and wires and monofilaments ofnylon, rayon, Dacron, wire, etc.

These objects are obtained by providing a metal clasp element with twoor more interfitting parts connected together at one edge. A first partcontains openings large enough to admit the strings and small enough toprevent passage of the knotted or otherwise enlarged string therethroughso that the end portion of the string can be inserted in the hole andheld there by a knot at the end. The second part of the clasp extends atan angle with respect to the first part viewed along the common edge.One of the parts contains the eyelet or means for attaching a hook or amale or female part of a two part clasp. At least one of the two sideswhich face each other is chamfered adjacent the orifices of the firstpart to accommodate the knots of the strings. v

The parts of the clasp elements of the invention may be made of metal orplastic or any similar material which can be molded or shaped and laterfolded together and held by its resilient or similar properties inclosed position.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of FIG. 2 is aperspective view of the improved type of clasp element in use.

FIG 3 is a perspective view of another form of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the assembled element of FIG. 3.

The clasp elements usually provided for plural strand necklaces areillustrated in FIG. 1 and comprise the bar 10 on which is integrallyformed the similar eyelets 11 for holding the hooks 12 and the eyelet 13for holding a fastener hook 14 or (at the opposite end of the necklace)a chain containing spaced pearls (not shown) which will catch on hook14. The hook elements 12 comprise a cup or disk shaped base 15 with ahole in the center through which the end of the string of the bead orpearl strand is passed and knotted. The knots and or ends of the string16 are not completely hidden by the cup or disk element 15 and areclearly visible from at least one sid with respect to the element 10.

FIG. 2 shows how a clasp device of the present invention looks whenassembled together with strands of beads or pearls 18 held on strings 16are held close to the lower side or plate 21 of the element 20 and nostrings or links show between the beads 18 and the clasp element 20.

The modification device shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A comprises two wire-likeframe portions 91 and 92 adapted to retain but display the end pearls orbeads of the strands of pearls held by the device. The wire frames 90comprise curved decorative leaves 93, 94 which are curved to embraceportions of the pearls 18' without concealing any substantial part ofthe surface thereof. The lower edge 96 of the wire frame 91 or 92 isadapted to fit into the space between pearls 18 and 18 and said loweredge 96 may include recesses for the knotted portions of the strings onwhich the pearls are strung. The wire frames 91 and 92 areunited alongthe upper edge as indicated by the hatched portion of FIG. 3 and heldtogether at the lower edge by a suitable catch mechanism as illustratedat 98, 99. Eyelet 95 of FIG. 3 corresponds to eyelet 13 or 25 of FIG. 2or 3 respectively.

The features and principles underlying the invention described above inconnection with specific exemplifications will suggest to those skilledin the art many other modifications thereof. It is accordingly desiredthat the appended claim shall not be limited to any specific feature ordetails thereof.

We claim:

A clasp element for plural strand jewelry articles adapted to hold onepart of a fastener element on one side thereof and one end of each of atleast two strands of beads or pearls at the other side, said claspelement comprising a first frame shaped part of such a length and widthas to admit at least two beads in the opening of the frame, and a secondframe shaped part of substantially the same length and width as thefirst part, said second part being united to the first part along thefirst side-longitudinal edges of the two parts, said second partcontaining a second side-longitudinal edge adapted to contact a secondside-longitudinal edge of the first part when said parts are pressedtogether, said frame shaped parts having large open spaces plus beadembracing portions whereby to hold therein but to display the end pearlsof said strands of pearls and means for holding a fastener partextending from the central portion of those side-longitudinal edgeswhich are united.

(References on following page) 3 4 References Cited by the Examiner2,644,992 6/1953 McFarland.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,054,157 9/1962 Evans- 1,578,940 3/1926 Wacha.

2,047,432 6/1936 Roedelheimer et a1. 24-265 WILLIAM FELDMAN Examme" r2,586,758 2/1952 Zen". 0 BOBBY R. GAY, Examiner.

